subject: Parental Involvement: Pay Attention To Your Teens Homework and School Performance [print this page] Parental Involvement: Pay Attention To Your Teens Homework and School Performance
By the time kids enter their adolescent year's parents expect their children to keep track of school work. While it is right to encourage independence by handing the responsibility over to your children, parents at times may feel their parenting work is done with respect to school work.
During the teen years, kids are still developing mentally and need assistance from parents. They are developing the self-control and positive work habits necessary to succeed in school and in life. As they get older, parents can hand more and more of the responsibility to their teens, however, parental monitoring and supervision is required to ensure the work is getting done and that there are no concerns with progress. The trick is to stay involved while nurturing their independence.
By keeping track of your teen's school work, you are not only showing an interest in the school work itself, but also in your child. School is an important and a major part of children's lives. This is the place where they will develop life skills, such as communication skills, social skills, work ethic, etc. Your attention will vastly improve your child's school performance and your interest and guidance will have an enormous impact on your child's attitude towards him/herself and his/her schoolwork, ability to perform, self-esteem, confidence, success and independence.
Your attention is their reward.
Tips To Help You Stay Involved With Your Child's School Work
Find Out The Deadlines: What are the deadlines for projects, exams, assignments, and other important school work? Write them down in the family calendar. This will allow you to keep up with what is going on in your child's school work and it will remind you to ask them about their progress.
Show Interest In The Content: By showing interest in the content you'll encourage your teen to pay attention to what s/he is learning. You will model an attitude of interest to your teen.
Follow Up On Missed Work During Absences: From time to time your child will be absent from school. Follow up with your teen on the first day back to school to know what they have missed or if they need any help grasping the information since they missed out on the lesson. They will notice and appreciate the extra attention (even if they don't show it or say they don't want it).
Contact Teacher If Necessary: If you are feeling lost with respect to the school work, feel free to contact the teacher and get more information. You'll be teaching your teen that it is right to ask for help if something is not understood.
Create Suitable Study Environment: A suitable studying environment will not only help your child eliminate distractions but will help him/her learn and retain the material. It will also help your child attain organizational skills, positive habits, and a good work ethic.
